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Toyguru Mattycollector.com MOTUC News Thread December 2012

Like last year, instead of posting EVERY little thing in it's own post, I'll gather them ALL the relevant MOTUC Ask Matty postings here. Keep checking for updates! The old threads are ancient history and won't be updated anymore. This is the new spot until next month.

As always, I'll put the most recent news up first, while the old news is down the bottom.

Hi Scott,
can you please give us the Fan Base some info as to why Granamyr the largest by far MOTUC figure and an $80.00 Item to boot is having so many Quality Controle issues with breakage upon assembly?

Fans are reporting over and over of receiving Granamyr with a broken tail ring making it impossible to attach the tail not to mention that the sockets in the main body are breaking when the arms and legs are being snapped into said sockets.

This isn't a issiue where a fan has gotten two right arms by mistake, we are talking actual breakage when trying to assemble Granamyr. Did the Factory in china have an issue with the plastic in the mold? Has design looked into this issue with the Vendor?
what is going on Scott? Please look into this and get us fans some answers? This is an expensive Item and there shouldn't be breakage when trying to assmble Granamyr.

Thank You for taking the time to read this?

Honestly, from all I can tell from actual photo evidence, this is a very tiny amount of customer with this issue. We made thousands of Granamyrs and as with any toy, a small quota will have QC issues. This is why we offer full refunds or replacements for any defective product. This is not as widespread as some may feel. A case of a few fans with legit QC issues posting very loudly over and over. We'll make sure anyone with a legit QC issue gets a replacement and we'll make all customers whole. All toys are made by hands and some will have QC issues. Just a fact of the business.

Mine arrived with two of the same arm. I only hope I don't have to go through the **** I went through to get a correctly assembled Swiftwind.

I only hope these assembly workers pull their heads out of their butts before Greyskull comes out next year.

We need images to assist. And just call CS to have a replacement arranged. No problem. We will make you whole. QC does happen, but without images of the issue it is hard to review this. We've had very few unique customers post images which makes this appear to be a very small quota that had QC issues. But with an online fan base with the power to post and discuss it can falsely create the perception that this is a much larger issue.

If you have anything wrong with any figure, just call CS and arrange a replacement! We'll make it right!

Thanks! It appears that any QC issues with Granamyr are only effecting a very small (but vocal group). If anyone did get any QC issues, just call CS and we will replace and make you whole. The overwhelming majority of customers seem to have no issues at all just like you. ;-)

For those who do have any QC issue, just call CS to get a replacement, and issue is resolved!

with the issues that granamyr had (mine too was defective, but fixed with super glue) can you have someone double check the quality control on your end before they finalize castle grey skull since it is such a high priced item

WE will do all we can to avoid any QC issues in every toy we make. But it does happen from time to time, and that is why we offer free replacements for any QC issue.

Are you aware of the popularity of Crita and Mara within the New Adventures faction. As they both repeatedly score higher in polls and surveys both here and on the org than do most of the remaining guys.

I would actually consider both of them as well as Flogg and Hydron essential to my New Adventures shelf.

Totally aware of them! How soon and of we can get to them depends heavily on how many slots we get for figures in the next two years. I would note hydron would be a higher priority to them overall.

Ok, I stole the tag line from the Comic Con panel but the partnership seems to deepen. With the current Masters of the Universe Comic that is being released by DC and with Mattel creating DC Comics action figures, I was curious if this partnership might deepen even further. DC Comics does some great direct to DVD cartoon movies and it would be wonderful to see He-Man back in animated action.

Will the partnership between Mattel and DC Comics extend into animation?

I came up with this whole idea when Mattel offered the 30th anniversary sub to us. Quickly a lot of people asked for other mini subscription options like a Princess of Power only subscription or a filmation only subscription.
Well, I have an idea for an extra subscription on my own. This idea is very simple, but may draw in more money and Mattel could deliver a lot of figures and still clear out the normal subscription model a little bit. I’m talking about an army-builder subscription. This could be done very easy, because a lot of potential army builder figures are low on tooling.

Here is what I’m thinking of:

- One army builder set in every quarter for 50$ (day of sale 54$)
- Low tooling figures with different display options to bolster the ranks
- Possibility of adding items fans have asked for
- Preorder system: If the minimum isn’t reached, they won’t be produced, so no risk for Mattel

What are the advantages of this subscription model?

- this subscription contains ONLY army builders, so people might buy more than one subscription to have different display options
- the figures share a lot of tooling or could reuse tooling from previous figures (the 4Horsemen are very clever when it comes to toolsharing)
- These sets could help sell other figures, too (like selling an Avionians 2pack in the same month as Hawk, for example)
- Getting the army builders out of the normal subscription. Instead of (for example) 2 Eternian firefighters you could now include a 2pack of Stonedar and Rokkon or another steed, so it helps getting out more of the other characters.

What should be considered when offering these?

- don’t offer them in the same month as any other quarterly item or bigger size item like Castle Grayskull
- try to offer them in the same month as related characters
- find a balance between good/ evil/ Horde/ Snakemen
- additional items and heads for other figures can be included to sell these 2packs

- standart male buck without legs
- sculpted similar to Faceless One (over standart buck)
- no additional heads needed, they all looked the same
- possible addition of Horde crossbows for Cy-Chop, Catra…

You see, there are a lot of possibilities and I don’t want to list ALL of them with part-sharing options. But this could have a lot of potential to boost sales for the Classics line again. If these army builders are included in the normal subscription, we surely will never have all of them, but this way we could flood the ultimate battleground.

Other possible 2packs:

- Cariconi (the crab guys)
- Skeleton warriors (okay, these would need new tooling, but you could sell two figures at a time)
- Hover Bots (maybe a three pack)
- Beast Men
- Kulataks
- Kex
- Mer-Man’s people

A cool idea but at this time we are going to concentrate on getting out the remaining vintage and main animated figures first. We'd love to get to more army builders in time but nothing this extensive in 2014.

Let me preface by saying I wouldn't be as mad about TOD Sorceress if it wasn't for everything else in the order (including something specifically for my daughter for Christmas). Yes, I know you never "promised" TOD Sorceress would be here before Christmas, but you never gave any indication that it would would be a month before it shipped. You never told us that it would be 10 days before you guys told us anything. You never told us that we'd have to milk an answer out of you on what happened and what the status is. You never told us you'd hold up an entire order while you people try to get your act together. The onus is on you, the seller, to tell us these things. It's not on the customer to have to badger this information out of you. And just to keep from getting a snarky "what is the question?" response, my question is what percentage of the MOTUC decline do you think can be attributed to your customer service?

There is no simple way to make a tiny collector line like this work for every customer. If you want to ship the units in your CM order that are in stock and wait for TOS Sorceress to ship seperate just call CS and they can assist!

Is Granamyr "on time" for the sale on the 17th? Looks like preview samples of Granamyr have not gone out with the others and we haven't heard any updates other than guaranteed to have pics in a couple days (though that was over a week ago).

The full quota will not be here by the Dec on sale date(only some of it) and he will ship to customers in the order he is purchased. As we receive the remaining units throughout Dec he will continue to ship out. We are hoping to have samples to send out before the sale but their is no guarantee on that.

We have a few other upgrades coming to the site and want to launch them all at the same time to ensure the smoothest transition. The my sub page will be up ASAP and before the first 2013 product is sold as promised. We just want to ensure it works perfect before launching.

This new box set coming out has every episode of the original series, 20 of the best NA episodes and every 200x episode. Not 1 episode or movie featuring She-Ra ... NOT 1!!

It's not just that, it's like you make a conscious effort to leave her out of everything. Throw us a bone here will you. It's getting tedious now.

I know POP isn't your favourite part of the mythos, but this line isn't just about your wants and needs. If you actually watched any of the She-Ra tv series, you'd see just how amazing it actually is. Her stories are better, she actually has a mission, and is leading a war. If its anyone who sits around all day, it's Adam.

Oh, and please make more of an effort with the POP gals bio's. you make them sound like they sit around all day brushing each others hair, and eating jam & scones. Depict them as what they are, warriors.

I really hope you do something for She-Ra's anniversary in 2015, but who I am I kidding, right?

Okay, well I do call "hold the phone on" this accusation because I am a HUGE She-Ra fan. My involvement with the Mill Creek DVD was help on the bonus materials and the pack in sword. Episode selection was not my call. So blaming me for not including POP episodes isn't really fair.

All the items I have been involved in (like the mini comics and character roll out) has been chocked full of POP characters. Some fans do no count anyone outside of core female Great Rebellion characters as POP which means Catra, Bow, Swiftwind, Shadow Weaver, Octavia and all three Star Sisters "don't count". But in my book they do and they all adds up to quite a lot of POP in the Classics line thus far! POP is not limited to just the female Great Rebellion figures that were released in the vintage line. ;-)

Also, ALL of the bios were written in 2009. So if you are the opinon that we need "more effort on POP bios" I would remind you that the bios are already done and have been for a long time.

Later this month we get to see a fantastic Masters of the Universe collection get released on DVD with the entirety of the original series, 20 fan favorite episodes of New Adventures and the entirety of the 200X series.

Just curious, will were you involved in the release of this set? Will we be seeing you in any new interviews?

Yes and yes. It wasn't my project but I was involved. Especially with the included MOTUC accessory and some of the new bonus material.

"Next few weeks", generally, means 2-3 weeks (at least), with the next actual business day being 12/3 and with the loooooong shipping times for USPS Ground, is it likely that we won't have our TOD Sorceress (along with the rest of the merchandise in the same order) before Christmas?

Correct. We never promised she would arrive by Christmas. But especially if you ordered her early in the sale she will likely ship very soon.

It's been over a week and I have a $300+ order still sitting "in process". Along with others who are seeing the same issue, the common denominator seems to be TOD Sorceress. Please stop ignoring our questions. What is the deal with TOD Sorceress and when will she (and the rest of my order) ship out?

Due to having inventory in several places to support various convention sales of this special sku, we were not able to get the full quota of TOD Sorceress to DR in time for the sale. We are in the process of moving all of the remaining units to DR and orders should keep shipping out over the next few weeks as the units are transfered!

It appears too long to wait for a reveal until NY Toyfare...
Do you plan to show us a sneak peak before February??
Maybe via Email for 2012 subscribers ?
Even a picture of a hand or a foot
Please please... I'm sick to wait too much time before any reveal...

Highly unlikely we will have another sneak peak before TF. With so many fall conventions, PC, NYCC etc... we are all out of reveals! Everything made at this point has been shown!

Mattel is in business to make money. So i'm a little confused about why they have no interest in reissueing certain older figs. I understand that they want everyone to buy a sub so that can get every fig, whether they actually want them all or not. It doesn't make sense to reissue every fig. However, they should consider reissueing the greatest hits of 2012. AKA Fisto, Rattlor,Sorceress, and Castle Grayskull Man. All of these figs sold out within the first 30 minutes of sales and are in very high demand. Why would Mattel not want to take our money? Charge more if you need to, but give the causal fans want they want.

The reason is there just is not enough interest in second runs. We know this factually from running almost two years of second run figures and none of them sold in the quota we needed outside of He-Man. A few very vocal fans on line asking for second runs does not always wind up being enough of a customer base to justify the second run.

i just was wondering if we are gonna get the chance
to see flight stands back in store anytime soon?
this is a real must have for us Motuc collectors and not only by the way...
please my friend,just show compassion,one more time.
Thanks.

Much like the figures, we are not going to be doing a second run of the stands. Once they are gone they are gone.

Are you reading the messages? We want 2012 reissues!! I need kobra khan and rattlor beacause you donดt send them to me, and Ghosts of Grayskull need Fisto, Rattlor,Sorceress, and Castle Grayskull Man. ฟYou donดt want our money? You donดt want save MOTUC??????

Sorry, we just can't do any more reissues. Going forward after around Man-E-Faces there will not be reissues of MOTUC figures. We still have some evergreen figures like He-Man and Skeletor but that is it. Once current stock is gone on all figures there will be no addition runs. We tried second runs on almost two years worth of figures and we just did not move the numbers we needed to any figure outside of He-Man.

I just got an email from Digital River saying that you don't have any in TOD Sorceress in stock but I know that others have had her shipped. My order was places 2 minutes after the sale started so why wasn't my order prioritized?
If there are none left please let us know so that we can try and get her from another source.

We had TOS Sorceress in a few locations due to convention sales. We were not able to get them ALL to DR in time for the sale. It is just taking a little longer to transfer the all the units of TOD Sorceress but give us a few weeks and all units sold last week will be moved to DR and will then ship out in approx the order they were purchased!

I wonder why Mattel never tries to court NEW fans? Right now, Classics is running on the dwindling original fanbase.

The whole MOTUC vs DC TRU 2 packs could have been a great way to advertise the website. Heck, including a small advertisement or brochure inside of the Young Justice, JLU, Green Lantern, DC Universe or Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises figures could have helped get more fans to Mattycollector.com.

I wonder why Mattel never tries to court NEW fans? Right now, Classics is running on the dwindling original fanbase.

The whole MOTUC vs DC TRU 2 packs could have been a great way to advertise the website. Heck, including a small advertisement or brochure inside of the Young Justice, JLU, Green Lantern, DC Universe or Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises figures could have helped get more fans to Mattycollector.com.

Heck Yeah ! I always thought MOTUC vs DC 2 packs was a GREAT idea ! We could have had some of the desired repaint figures mini comic Green Trap Jaw, Filmation Colour Prince Adam, Tri-Klops, Man-At-Arms ETC with that extra "Vehicle" ! Too bad its history now !

I wonder why Mattel never tries to court NEW fans? Right now, Classics is running on the dwindling original fanbase.

The whole MOTUC vs DC TRU 2 packs could have been a great way to advertise the website. Heck, including a small advertisement or brochure inside of the Young Justice, JLU, Green Lantern, DC Universe or Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises figures could have helped get more fans to Mattycollector.com.

I have to agree with you fully, MGM. This is a niche line based on nostalgia, but the same things that got us interested in MOTU 30 years ago still exists in kids. I gave my friend the Stratos from the DC pack to do some drawings. When his 3 year old nephew came to visit, the kid pulled Stratos out and his jaw dropped "Who is this?!?!?". That's the magic of MOTU.

I wonder why Mattel never tries to court NEW fans? Right now, Classics is running on the dwindling original fanbase.

The whole MOTUC vs DC TRU 2 packs could have been a great way to advertise the website. Heck, including a small advertisement or brochure inside of the Young Justice, JLU, Green Lantern, DC Universe or Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises figures could have helped get more fans to Mattycollector.com.

An admirable suggestion, but probably very much a chicken/egg scenario for Mattel at this point. In other words, they don't have the budget to do anything other than cater to existing fans, so how do you create new fans when you simply don't have the budge to do anything other than create new MOTUC figures (and playsets now apparently)? They have already fully and completely owned up to their lack of marketing budget on multiple occasions, so if you can't create new fans you simply continue to cater to those who continue to follow you.

Personally that seems like a model doomed to failure eventually due to audience attrition, but so far it's worked for them because that dwindling audience simply absorbs the hit- or has thus far. Will we ever hit critical mass where the audience simply refuses to take on 3 or more subs per year in order to make up for those who've left the hobby? Time will tell. My money is on no though, as 2013 proved that audience is still willing to support MOTUC rain or shine. It sucks that Mattel simply leans on that good will w/out any major uplift effort on their part to spread the word from a marketing perspective, but alas again it's that chicken/egg. Until Mattel does more to get the word out (perhaps in a movie year) I fear those of us still left standing around with our 'SUPPORT MATTY' signs are going to be fewer and fewer.

The reason is there just is not enough interest in second runs. We know this factually from running almost two years of second run figures and none of them sold in the quota we needed outside of He-Man. A few very vocal fans on line asking for second runs does not always wind up being enough of a customer base to justify the second run.

I never believed the "few vocal/loud" thing. After seeing, how Filmation Randor`s doing on matty, I believe it...

I wonder why Mattel never tries to court NEW fans? Right now, Classics is running on the dwindling original fanbase.

The whole MOTUC vs DC TRU 2 packs could have been a great way to advertise the website. Heck, including a small advertisement or brochure inside of the Young Justice, JLU, Green Lantern, DC Universe or Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Dark Knight Rises figures could have helped get more fans to Mattycollector.com.

Well they do put the logo on seemingly most of their DC retail items now, granted it doesn't tell you anything about the site but it is on a lot of releases. Checking the Dark Knight Rises Movie Masters these do not however, but Action League does.

Originally Posted by Pixel Dan

Ram Man hands He-Man? What the crap is that all about?

Don't worry some more people will want this now

Originally Posted by Berserker79

The reason is there just is not enough interest in second runs. We know this factually from running almost two years of second run figures and none of them sold in the quota we needed outside of He-Man. A few very vocal fans on line asking for second runs does not always wind up being enough of a customer base to justify the second run.

I never believed the "few vocal/loud" thing. After seeing, how Filmation Randor`s doing on matty, I believe it...

While some of these reissues sell just not enough to make a new run, these extras either end up in a warehouse or discounted later on.

Originally Posted by SCB

The Ram Man hands are an easy custom anyway. Just buy two extra Ram Man and throw away the bodies.

Oh it will happen now, maybe not the bodies thrown away but this "custom" will show up.

So wait, Scott thinks that with DR/mattys sites track record the best way to implement the my sub page is with numerous other changes as well for smoothest transaction. That doesn't sound like its going to end well.

So wait, Scott thinks that with DR/mattes sites track record the best way to implement the my sub page is with numerous other changes as well for smoothest transaction. That doesn't sound like its going to end well.

J

Yeah, I have no idea what sort of IT experience he has but uhhhhh.... rolling out huge new changes all at once is usually a recipe for disaster.

Live in the Connecticut/SW Massachusetts area? Need a tutor for you or your kids? PM me!

After the debacle last time (wasn't it almost exactly one year ago) that they said they would never sell a product until all of it came into stock?
Yet there Scott is saying that they are going to sell Granymyr on the day, ones that haven't even arived yet, and then ship them as they arrive.